


Breath of Life

by HappyGoSuckyFucky



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon-Typical Violence, Caring Thranduil, Elves, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Good Parent Thranduil, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Immortality, M/M, Maria Stark's A+ Parenting, More like a bored elf, Odin's A+ Parenting (Marvel), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out of Character Legolas Greenleaf, Overpowered Character, POV Alternating, Platonic Life Partners, Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Sibling Love, Transmigration, Unreliable Narrator, Young Legolas Greenleaf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:33:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29839506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyGoSuckyFucky/pseuds/HappyGoSuckyFucky
Summary: A promise led her here far from home and a promise will bring her back to home.
Relationships: Gimli (Son of Glóin)/Legolas Greenleaf
Kudos: 2





	Breath of Life

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Mentions of child abuse, child neglect, implied torture. Unreliable narrator.
> 
> A/N: so, this is obviously not edited and I know there will be thousands of misspellings in this first chapter but after I finish this fic I will edit everything, so fear not.
> 
> Is it obvious that I do not know how to write Tolkien Elves? Yes? 

.

..

...

2008

...

..

.

Howard Stark lived deep in the Tongass National Forest in a house so big that it resembled a palace of great visage made of precious but resilient materials, the walls were long and incredibly thick, long halls adorned by flowers and rooms with doors made of metal capable of not letting a sound in or out were a common sight in the house, passages hidden between the halls and under the construction were also a common thing, three rooms were specially large and almost the size of two small houses, these rooms were decorated with dedication and love to the more minimal detail.

Their furnishing was full of expensive and comfortable furniture, big beds covered by silk quilts of a rich red colour and pillows incredibly soft and full resting on top of them, a small but exquisite table beside the bed with a vase full of flowers in different colours and varieties. The rooms had a bay window with direct view to the well keep garden inside the level where they were found, the walls had carvings resembling trees and vine-like vegetation, the walls of the rooms were white with the ceiling painted in a silver colour that shimmered faintly, all in all the rooms were perfect if a bit empty, waiting to be filled with more personal belongings.

The only room that had more life to it was the room in between the other two, it had an enormous bookshelf that reached the roof filling one of the wall from side to side and it was filled to the brim with books. In the wall where the bed was located beautiful painting of two men were the most striking feature of the room. One of the paintings had a young man of beautiful disposition with straight large golden locks, his eyes of a beautiful blue-green shade that could see into one's soul, his face was pale in colour, his lips wore a faint smile, his head wore a crown of woodland flowers. The other painting depicted a young man with large straight dark hair, solemn blue eyes like the ocean, his features resembled much the man on the other picture, he wore a smaller silver crown that had a small gem in the middle and it rested in his forehead. Both man bore strong resemblance to Howard Stark, who had the same golden locks that the first man, her eyes were of a cyan colour that shined under the moonlight, she was pale and her cheeks were blushed on a light pink tone, the corner of her lips was curled slightly upwards. 

She strolled calmly through the gigantic garden with a yearning expression, her hands were clasped behind her back and her posture was dignified with her back straight and her face held up adequately, her long golden hair fell on her back and a bit over her shoulders, it was free of any decoration moving freely with the wind, her steps were so light that she seemed to be floating over the ground as she walked, her hands grazed the flowers lightly from time to time, caressing the plants as she passed.

She was dressed in casual wear; black shorts and a sleeveless white shirt that hung loosely on her slender frame, she was barefoot and completely devoid of any ornament with the only exception of a single golden ring that she wore in her index finger, it had nothing engraved but it seemed to hold a strong emotional link to her as it was the only ornament she wore, it was seemingly new judging by the pristine condition of the small band.

She halted to a stop when a sound from inside her room alarmed her of a call, she promptly walked into the room through the bay window and to her phone laying on her bed, answering the call swiftly after checking the calling number.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice Mr. Rhodes?" Her voice was a sophisticated English accent that sounded melodic, almost as if she were singing.

She was polite and well spoken, never interrupting the other talking as he started to speak rather uneasily, as if trying to calm himself to sound composed and failing in the act.

"Oh, that is positively horrendous." She said as soon as he stopped talking, she held her phone on her right hand away from her ear. She sounded as composed as she was in the begining. "Tell me Mr. Rhodes, how is Obadiah Stane in this worrisome situation?"

She walked to the connected closet she had, taking a suitcase and bag she hanged over her shoulder, out of the room, the suitcase was already prepared in case of emergency, so she only needed to take it and part from her house. She exited her room through the door and walked the expertly the hallways to get outside the house, as she was doing that she listened to the voice coming from her phone.

The man stopped talking after a short while but it was enough for the young girl to run far from the house without even breaking a sweat.

She stopped momentarily. "Await for my return Mr. Rhodes, I will arrive as fast as my feet allow me."

Hearing the affirmative she stuffed her phone inside her bag and continued to run through the forest.

* * *

The woman that arrived was not someone Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes expected, in truth she was someone he had not even imaginated through the information his best friend related to him.

She was indeed beautiful as Tony had said, her golden locks reached below her hips and looked impossibly soft, her eyes were of a bright cyan and no wrinkle in her youthful face could be seen, for a woman that he was sure was in her early forties she did not appear her age even by a bit, spookily enough she resembled a girl in her teen years, maybe of thirteen years (give or take), it was strange to say at least, for her general impression let know that she had seen the sorrows of the world but had became wise instead of defeated by them. 

She wore a dress that seemed a bit (if not entirely) out of context, it seemed to be taken out of a historical movie set in the medieval ages, it was of an Oxford blue with the neck being a piece of fabric that hung on support from her neck, her pale shoulders were bare and her arms covered by long and large sleeves, it seemed to be the case that her back was also bare, for this situation it seemed a bit too much, even more so in the body of someone that appeared to be so young.

Beside her external appearance, Rodhey could not even fathom her character, from the bit he talked to her he could tell she had a nice temperament, enough for her to remain clear headed during trying times, but could not say nothing more of her.

"How was your travel?" He asked trying to distract himself from the reality even for a moment.

She looked at him calmly, before responding in the tone he was sure was not possible for a human. "The journey from my home to the city was rushed and not at all pleasant to enjoy, but for the sake of my brother I shall bear the cost."

The man of dark skin blinked and nodded, speechless. "I see..."

"Tell me Mr. Rhodes, has something of vital importance changed or have things remained the same in my absence?"

That was something he could answer, even if not completely to her. He told her everything he knew from the moment of the dearth of the Stark's to the moment his best friend was kidnapped, she listened attentively from her spot in one of his friends couches, sitting like she owned the world.

"JARVIS?" She called when he finished talking.

JARVIS answered immediately. "Yes Miss. Stark?" 

"Please do me the favour of initiating Protocols Recrudescence and Safeguard." 

Rhodey stared at her frowning, and before he could speak JARVIS voice answered.

"Protocols Recrudescence and Safeguard initiated." 

"Do you require something else Miss Stark?"

"It is all JARVIS, I thank you for your aid." 

She rose from the couch in a ceremonious move, clasping her hands behind her back.

"We must depart Mr. Rodhes, our journey to where my brother is to be found must be completed shortly, time is not our friend I'm afraid."

Then she marched out of the living room with her suitcase in hand, Rhodey hurried behind her, taking his own bag from the couch hastily.

...

The travel to Afghanistan was long and filled with anxiety for the Colonel, as he could not understand what went through the mind of the older sister of his best friend for her to make them go to Afghanistan when they knew next to nothing about his friend's whereabouts.

They had been in the country for less than an hour and half when Howard came back to the house where they were staying with men carrying two others in stretchers. One of them was definitely Tony, even in his battered and almost lifeless body he could recognize him, the other man was someone he didn't know but he was an older man, who looked similar to Tony's own state but was awake with an incredulous expression.

Leading them was Howard, who looked tranquil as she walked inside the house, with a glint of smugness in her eyes when she catched his eye.

She said something to the people behind her, letting them pass her to enter a wing of the house where he could see plenty of doctors and nurses awaiting for Tony and the older man.

She then walked to him and impassively said. "Stay here Mr. Rhodes my brother will need you, I however, I'm needed in the US to make the proper preparations for Tony and his guests."

Rhodey nodded firmly, internally he could not help but find her a bit emotionless, maybe a bit too pragmatic for someone whose younger brother was kidnapped for months, and whose state looked worse than death itself. Her knowing gaze made him blush in shame, but she mentioned nothing as she talked to the housekeeper in a hushed voice and walked out of the house to get into a car that drove away as soon as she was inside.

Howard Stark would remain a mystery for him, of that he was sure.

...

Two days later they were finally home with a bunch of specialists and medical staff in tow, Rhodey was surprised to find two floors of the building made into hospital rooms filled with every necessary equipment should the need arise. 

Every single detail was taken care of by Howard to the most minimal detail. Rhodey was even more surprised at finding out she had turned inside out Stark Industries to find the people that apparently had betrayed Tony, Obadiah Stane was one of them, together with half of every department in the company, every person involved was thrown into prison as soon as it was possible, the trials were the fastest the Colonel had ever heard of or seen. 

It was scary how ruthless and effective Howard Stark was, he could see the perfect heir of Stark Industries that Tony had talked about when he was drunk most of the time back in MIT. But somehow that was not enough to match her actual behaviour, she had had no mercy with the people responsible of betraying Tony's trust, but she had been fair in a way at handing the punishment.

She had made so many changes to Stark Industries in two days that it barely resembled the original, she worked incessantly day and night from what Rhodey could guess, JARVIS reports also let him know that since coming back she had only instructed workers to make themselves useful in the making of the changes for Tony and his friend, Dr. Ho Yinsen who was a renowned scientist and surgeon (whose family was on their way to the US in one of the private jets of Howard.) to be comfortable, every need was taken care of by someone of trust.

Multitasking seemed to be natural for Howard, often he heard or saw doing five task at once, talking, writing, directing, supervising or drinking, it should have been impossible for someone to have so much energy.

It was unnatural.

* * *

It would take three months for Tony to see his older sister, who had not stepped foot into the tower dice the day she came back to the United States after rescuing him and Yinsen.

From what JARVIS and his Platypus had told him, she had not stopped working for a second, staying at the company and flying to wherever she was needed to fix deals. Tony would be lying if he said it didn't make him nostalgic, she had been like that from the moment he could remember, she was not affective with him in a vocal or physical way but had always made sure he was well, (that until Tony had ruined everything, or so he thought at the moment.) And she fixed everything he broke, and protected him from what it was harmful for him, just like she had done when she saw Howard hitting him, she had broken his arm the same day and Howard had not touched him again since that day.

He missed his sister, he had not see her from the day of their parents funeral, not since the day Tony had said a numerous of hurtful things that to this day he regretted. Even then his sister had said nothing back before departing, only giving him a brief hug as a goodbye.

Every time he was in trouble he found himself miraculously out of them, his sister had worked hard to keep him on his feet even from afar, helping him with everything even when he had done nothing but to be ungrateful and rude to her in all their years together.

Now it was shown again.

She had come back from the company looking every bit rested and spirited, wearing her usual outlandish clothes, a gown that belonged back onto the XV century with her hair as free as the water in the ocean.

Tony wanted to greet her but the words seemed stuck in his throat, so he could only stare at her helplessly. 

She fixed her gaze in him and raised an eyebrow. "Have you returned to your five year old self Anthony?"

Tony blushed and shook his head, suddenly a bit too shy. "I... I just wanna tha-thank you for..." He struggled with the words.

"You are my brother, for me to not help you would be a crime, for we share the same blood and mind." She said lightly, her melodic voice reminding Tony of the separation between them. "You need not thank me brother."

He relaxed, his sister always knew what was best, what to do, how to comfort him even when he himself could not bother, so he did nothing but nod.

"You are allowed to enter your workshop but the time spent there cannot pass from eight hours a day with breaks every time you need to feed yourself." She began, looking at him serious. "You may agree to the terms or you may not, if you don't then I won't allow you into the workshop, this is not something you can fight."

Knowing her sister as he did Tony knew that she was deadly serious, she said nothing but the truth, despite her youthful looks that made her appear like a lovely child, she was in truth the contrary for she was not a child and she was not lovely.

She was nothing like Howard or like mother, in fact if not by the DNA test he made a few years back he would have believed she was adopted, but no, she was his full blooded sister no matter how different her personality or her appearance made her from him. That could not stop him from thinking that somewhere in the world there had to be a family of golden haired people that was missing a daughter, maybe a father looking far and wide for his little girl incessantly or mother baking cakes every time her birthday came up, or even a brother remembering the moments spent alongside her. His thoughts were foolish of course, Howard had been nothing but a narcissistic man that had done everything but made the birth day of his sister public, even going as far as naming her after him with only the meaning of the name being different. He would have payed to watch the face of his father when he saw fro the first time his sister, he had been told by Jarvis that his sister was born incredibly pale with cyan eyes instead of his own skin colour or his wife eye colour, he had fainted in the spot for quite a while, Tony was sure he would give up all his money to be present that day.

Regardless of his feelings and thoughts on the matter, he admitted to feel safer with his sister around even with her icy words and sharp glances.

"... I should remind you that until I give my blatant approval you are not to dwell into company business." She said, bringing him out of his musings.

"And you will attend to your therapy sessions with Dr. Nayad." 

He nodded mutely, words were not needed here at the moment, his sister had no need for answers because she already knew them, or most accurately she wanted no answers. 

Watching him for a moment his sister nodded contently and proceeded to drop into the nearest surface she could find like a ragdoll, that surface being the floor where she stood, to immediately fall asleep.

Tony stood there for a second gaping like goldfish at his unconscious sister on the floor, this was the first time he saw her do something so ungraceful in all of his life.

"Sir, may I suggest something?"

"Of course baby boy."

"You should cover Miss with a blanket."

Tony blinked twice, was that fondness he heard in JARVIS voice? It seemed his kid had developed a liking for his sister, not that he could blame him, his sister grew on people like mold. He sighed and walked to his room to take out a blanket, coming back just a few moments later to lay the piece of cloth over her.

Shaking his head lightly he went in the direction to his workshop humming a strange tune as he walked.

...

A year passed without further incident, at least that's what Tony thought.

Between JARVIS and Howard overprotective reigns he knew nothing of what was happening, just the small details they deemed safe to tell him, his Rodhey bear also complied with them, not telling him anything that had not passed through JARVIS or Howard and received their approval.

He was still a bit annoyed that his sister had not been willing to retire Stark Industries from the business of weapons, but her reasons were logic as always.

"If we retire, the soldiers would have to make do with Hammer technology, they could die or hurt someone by accident because of faulty weapons, do you want that? So what if our legacy was made from blood and death, would turning into a new leaf change that? Do you perhaps think of yourself so highly that you believe if you retire from the business everyone would follow you? Or perhaps you think there will be no more war?"

She still had the ability to make him feel like a child with just a few words and even then she didn't make him feel exactly ashamed nor insecure, she was brutally honest and more often than not a bit indifferent, like she had seen everything that could be seen and experienced everything that could be experienced in life, a look in her eyes that reached levels of boredom and apathy that should have been impossible always present in her, but even then he always felt good of being at the recieving end of her nagging.

He had not feel this way in a long time, the day his mother died and his sister left was the day he stopped having a sense of home, no matter how hard Rhodey or Pepper or Happy tried (not that they did much when they knew nothing of his feelings on the matter.) He simply did not feel comfortable, safe where he was, his sister had been his rock, the one that shielded him and taught him all his life, and now she was back.

(Something at the back of his mind told him it wouldn't be for long.)

He was damned if he made her go away again, he had missed her so much in all those years of separation that if she were to part again he would be destroyed beyond repair.

...

Miss Stark liked to sing.

JARVIS had observed her behaviour closely, she liked to sing songs in a language he could not understand for there was no register of such a language ever existing, and she liked to do it while she worked or simply stared outside the window on her room, normally a thoughtful expression crossed her face while she did so, often being replaced by a fond expression as quickly as it appeared. 

Her voice was perfect, (he could attest to that, there was not a single flaw in it.) melodic and enchanting, even he as an AI sometimes got distracted by the sound of her voice in the most interesting times, not that he minded much, it was the closer he could feel to a infatuation brought without actually having a human brain to experience it.

She didn't like to have her hair touched by anyone but her, Sir had tried once to touch one of her golden locks and was discouraged by one of her icy glares, JARVIS didn't like that but he could understand, for Miss Stark her hair was like Sir's arc reactor, for anyone to just touch it felt unnatural. 

(JARVIS still didn't know how he had reached such conclusion, Miss Stark hair was simply that, hair and Sir's arc reactor kept him alive, there was a world of difference but nevertheless it felt right to reach that conclusion.)

She also didn't sleep often and when she did it was merely a kind of meditative state that lasted between fifteen minutes to an hour, then she started to work and continue with everything as if she had rested properly, even Sir had to be powered by high doses of energy drinks and coffee constantly to be able to reach the ability to function three days in a row just as she did.

(No human should have been capable of such feats, much less not someone like her that shared Sir's DNA.)

She enjoyed silence and her privacy, not liking to talk unnecessarily and eating just the bare minimum when she could. Normally she ate at noon and drank wine like water throughout the day, not appearing a bit drunk when the day ended.

Her habits seemed to be worse than Sir's and yet she did much better than him in a daily basis.

Miss Stark truly was an enigma.

After observing her carefully for the year, JARVIS determined that she wasn't a threat for Sir, she was the best chance for Sir to get better with his mental issues and to finally be able to heal all of his insecurities. 

It seemed like a new Sir was living with Miss Stark present, a more confident and passionable Sir, someone who would not get anyone treat him like a doormat, someone who could stand for himself and not feel doubt after. 

Someone more balanced, more human in a way.

Mr. Stark was getting better.

(And if JARVIS had gained a younger sister with Miss Stark presence and Sir's improvement, he didn't mention it.)

...

Virginia 'Pepper' Potts was happy for her boss.

Tony had seemed better, healthier than he had ever been since she had started working for him. His skin glowed and his voice had a feeling of life to it that has never appeared before. He also was more relaxed and less stressed by dealing with everyone.

Not mentioning that he stopped drinking, smoking and taking a woman to his bed every night. He stopped partying and stopped taking drugs. 

While that did make her happy, it worries her that he stopped going out altogether, the only times she saw him was when she stopped by at the tower and that was for small moments, his sister was taking care of the company and that was probably why he stopped going out. Logically she saw that he had gone through a horrible trauma and that it would take time for him to heal before he retook his post at the top of Stark Industries.

She knew that very well, and yet she found herself uncomfortable at not seeing him as often as she did for a year, instead seeing his sister that looked like a child every single day, and the worst part was that she was one of the few people that truly scared her and it wasn't even on purpose, Howard Stark was too busy to actually have the time to make plans to scare people.

The woman spent almost every second of the day working, only taking a break that could not last more than a few minutes at a time. She was almost perfect, almost, if not by her alcoholism she would have been the perfect woman, not that her problem made her less efficient, in fact it seemed to simply be like hobbie for her, a moment of leisure among all the work of her day.

It didn't affect her even a bit, and that was something Pepper would like herself to have one day.

Nevertheless her new boss kept her very busy with the expanding and improvement of Stark Industries, it was good that she had been a month paid vacation after the period of one year passed by her boss, it was excellent and exciting.

Yes, Pepper was happy for her boss to have such a nice older sister.

...

Nicholas Fury was not a happy man, he was far from the description.

He had though that with Tony Stark miraculously saved from Afghanistan they would have a chance to approach him while he was weakened by his captivity to be able to get him in their side, but as it was the reality had been cruel to SHIELD.

Since his return Tony Stark had not stepped foot in public a single time in a year since his rescue, only giving a brief interview with a news channel by Skype a month after his rescue. No one had seen the man again ever since, it was know that his older sister, Howard Stark, had taken the reins of the company with an iron fist but beyond that nothing.

And if Howard Stark didn't scare Fury as much as she did, he would have approached her younger brother the moment he could, but the certainty that the older Stark would fix her gaze in him truly made him have nightmares, and for the God in the sky if that wasn't terrific.

She had been Howard's favourite, his perfect little heir, everything he had ever hoped for in his firstborn child. 

Genius, beautiful, ruthless, every single thing that could come up to mind could be used as a parade for her, because Howard had adored her with all his being, even when he discovered that she had hypopituitarism when she seemingly stopped growing, he was extremely worried for her brain even if not for her body, the knowledge that her brain was intact and developed normally was the biggest good news he had in all his life. The man seemed moments appart of throwing a party for her.

The adoration and love was not returned by his daughter, who at best was cold to him and at worst was indifferent. Most of the time was the latter, the only one in the Stark family who received a slightly different treatment was Tony, and yet that did not have much difference.

Somehow, at some unknown point, Howard stopped the abuse that Tony went through under his father, and ever since she miraculously started to give Tony more attention and care.

Fury only knew of this because he used to visit the Stark quite often after taking his current position as Director of SHIELD, and yet he only knew a small part of it.

Howard Maria Stark was someone he did not want to mess with a five-foot-pole, even then he found himself in a rather dangerous situation, in a moment of foolishness he had send the Widow into the devil's house to gain some insight, some access, to the Stark Heir.

And now...

And now he found himself with a broken little Spider that is of not use to anyone and an angry Hawk that can not logner shoot arrows even if his life depended on it. He has a promise and he doesn't feel the least inclined to provoke the beast more than he already has.

Nick Fury is not a happy man.

..

Howard Stark takes a sip of wine as her mind wanders to times long passed.

She thinks of times where she used to sit at her father's feet and listen attentively to whatever magnificent tale he decided to tell, when she was but a mere child yet of forty years that spent every moment she could with her father.

She remembers the wars, the battles, the comradeship between her younger brother friends and him, when she watched him from afar, taking care of him in the shadows as the Fellowship advanced in their quest to destroy the One Ring, 

She remembers how proud she felt at seeing him grow little by little in the company of his comrades, how she felt find of his growing love for the dwarf Gimli, Son of Glóin, their friendship hardening in the middle of battle as their love made way on their hearts. 

It had been such a long time ago that she almost believed to forgotten about it and yet the memories came to her as esasy as her Ada's face from the last time she saw him.

She only needed time to see him again.

* * *

First draft: March / 1 / 2021

Final draft: March / 4 / 2021


End file.
